Chasing the AI Bogeyman

I spend a lot of my time in the halls of academia, where angst about AI has ramped up considerably in recent months. I see more and more instances of individual responses to student AI use, and as the numbers rise, so does the incoherence of our collective messaging. I decided to chase this bogeyman, primarily […]

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Breathe Normally

In recent decades, more and more empirical studies have established the benefits of breathing. It may be hard to believe that something we do anyway can become a powerful tool for improving well-being, but that’s exactly the conclusion of many studies. For instance, a 2021 study in India involved teaching healthcare providers “SKY” (Sudarshan Kriya […]

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The Purpose of Purpose

There’s a lot of talk about purpose and the importance of “having a purpose” for a sense of well-being, but in all that purpose-talk, we don’t have a lot of clarity about what having a purpose actually means. So, let’s dig into the notion of purpose and see what we can find. Many people seem […]

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Plan D

In life as in my various administrative roles in academia, I have earned a well-deserved reputation for always having a Plan B (and Plan C). I hate surprises, so I plan for contingencies. After all, if you’ve done your homework, you can go to class and relax. But there’s one “contingency” in life that may […]

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Confession of a Rational Animal

There’s a lot to appreciate about Aristotle’s definition of our species as rational animal. We are animals with the capacity for reason — including the all-important ability to guide our decisions and behavior through the exercise of reason. I’ve devoted much of my life to practical reason and the pursuit of excellences that enrich our […]

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Managing Reason Fatigue

There have been a number of articles in the news about the growing anger of vaccinated people at the unvaccinated, confrontations about masks and social distancing, and of course, plenty of expert advice that shaming, scorn, and insults do not generally move people to be “responsible.” Behind all this lies what I call “reason fatigue”: […]

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